Greece is on fire - 26th July 2023

Thousands of tourists on Rhodes have had to escape wildfires. High temperatures of 45 degrees celsius have caused the fires at the busiest time of Greece' s tourist season.

Many hotels are in danger. Police have ordered guests onto the beaches for safety. British tourist Kelly Squirrel had to escape her hotel.

Kelly Squirrel: "We were around the pool yesterday, saw the fires. One o' clock the police came into our reception and told everyone to get on to the beach. So, we ran down to the beach. We just sat there for fifteen minutes, half an hour and then more smoke came over us so we were told to move along the beach. Just keep walking. So, we were walking for about six hours, in the heat."

Many tourists left their belongings in their hotels as they ran to the beach for safety.

Kevin Sales and his wife had to lend one person clothes.

Kevin Sales: "We went to the stadium for somewhere to stay and I couldn't believe the stories I was hearing from the people who' ve been evacuated from hotels. All their money, passports, clothing, we had to lend a woman some of my wife's clothes cause she had nothing to wear. It was terrible."

Greek authorities and embassies in Greece are at the Rhodes airport. They're helping tourists who' ve lost their travel documents.

German, French and British tour companies have flown empty planes to Rhodes to take tourists home. But some companies are still flying tourists to the island. Some governments haven't told people not to travel. Many tourists are confused.

Greece has sent 250 firefighters and 18 aeroplanes to fight the fires. But the fires continue to grow in strong winds. Wildfires burnt Evvia last summer and they've started again. Another popular tourist island, Corfu, is also on fire.